Tag Archives: Urban walks

For the past two evenings, I have taken a post prandial walk through the woods very close to where I live in the middle of a housing estate. The days have been warmer, dry and sunny with little wind. I am optimistic enough to hope that now, in the first half of April, spring may be upon us.

The first entrance I found

The daffodils are flowering both in public spaces, house gardens and in the woods. It is heartening to walk around brilliant yellow bobbing trumpet-like flowers. These are a more muted creamy colour.

Old rocks in a row.

I love the moss throughout.

My woods start about 150 yards from my house and the path meanders around fallen trees and shrubs, through dimly lit bush and early on there is a children’s play area brightly coloured with slides and monkey bars. It backs onto another part of the housing estate and is a delightful find.

This is one of several entrances to the wood

I started picking up, from fallen trees, the remains of birds’ nests to bring back and place strategically in hidden places among my rhododendron in the back garden. It isn’t flowering yet but I have noticed the resident blackbird and his paramour scooting around the back of the rhododendron and thought they may take to a nest in the next couple of years. There is a nest at the front of the house outside my bedroom window and I wake up to their song in the morning. That nest is quite low down in the bushes that grow outside the front door. I want to take those bushes away – very scrappy and not at all attractive – but don’t want to leave the blackbirds without a nest.
Hopefully they will re-locate to the back garden soon.
Coming out from one of the many paths I came across another area of the estate and found this:

Beautiful blossoms

Here are some assorted photos from the wood walk and when I arrived back in my street I snapped this wee copse on the roadside